John answers “New to philosophy, should I read Analects...”

OAS15 asked this question about The Analects:

New to philosophy, should I read Analects or Tao Te Ching first?

John Hi! I am a graduate student in Chinese history and I would not advise reading either directly first. Because they are looking at fundamentally differe…moreHi! I am a graduate student in Chinese history and I would not advise reading either directly first. Because they are looking at fundamentally different questions than we are used to, many of their ideas can be hard to follow or not useful at first glance.

Instead I would strongly recommend "The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life" by Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh. This is the short book I use to introduce students to Confucianism alongside primary sources.

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...(less)

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